If it has a strong vanilla-type scent and is growing in a moist area, check out swamp azalea, Rhododendron viscosum which occurs in white most commonly, but also in pink.

Posted by lucky_p z6 W.KY (My Page) on Mon, May 13, 13 at 7:48 I went to see the linked pictures. Now, I realize the bark looks quite different. The flowers of the one in picture are also much larger. It could be a hybrid of some sort. Here is a link for the Google images of the unique bark patterns. This post was edited by jujujojo on Tue, May 14, 13 at 10:53

I am going for a woodland feel also, to screen a view. But also because I think the flowering trees and colorful foliage and berries will be beautiful against the evergreeens. One reason I wanted to check on bloom sequence and overlap was to make sure there weren't any pink dogwood/redbud type combinations. Ack! I've seen that and it isn't pretty! (Unless maybe one used a white cultivar of redbud...) So far as balance goes, I'm planning on smaller ornamental trees in front of medium sized evergreens - with large shrubs toward one end. The evergreens are faster growing, but most of the ornamental trees I'm considering seem to be in the slow to medium growth rate. As far as repetition goes, do you think it's best to plant all of one type together, or to scatter them - with small shrubs for example, I could put one here and three there and so forth. Also, before I finally position things, I will have to find winter photos of the trees I'm not so familiar with to see shape and branching patterns. This is why I have to plan so far ahead! I go into information overload, gathering every bit of data and advice I can - and then months later I'm ready to plant. :- ) We are putting in the evergreens this fall (which I obsessed over for some time) and I wouldn't expect to put in the other trees until early spring, for the most part. Or maybe next fall, even.

Witch hazel does, literally, bloom for 2 months; mid-February, all of March, and into April. At least, Arnold Promise does, on the cape. Mine is a teenager, and is about ... 12' tall. Not sure how tall he'll get. Love the halesia suggestion - I don;t have one but they certainly do look nice. My cornus mas is an incredibly slow grower, it's got to be 10 years old and is no taller than me. A nearby (volunteer, no less) crab apple outshines it every year, I'm sorry to say. Maybe it's just that it's unhappy on the southeast corner of my house, but I'm underwhelmed by the flowers and overall appearance of this plant. Bummer, because it was on my list of "can't live without" plants for a long time. If I was going to plant something there now, I think I'd go with Prunus mume.